Nalu Week 2016
by Dolly is All Kinds of Trash
Summary: My fanfics for Nalu Week 2016. Originally posted on tumblr.
1. Longing

"Hey, Happy?" Natsu said one afternoon as he rested on the damp ground. It had been two weeks since their journey began, and they'd spent everyday training as hard as they could.

"Yeah?" Happy replied absentmindedly. He was staring intently at a mushroom and wishing it was a fish.

"Do...you ever think that we shouldn't have left Lucy behind?"

"Nah," Happy answered, not giving the question much thought, "she wouldn't have liked it with all the training and sleeping in the woods."

"But…" Natsu felt odd. He felt unsure of himself. He was second-guessing himself, and that wasn't something he normally did. "We were a team, she was our partner… 'It's always more fun when we're together' she said, right?"

Happy didn't respond, he just looked at Natsu with an odd, almost knowing, expression on his face. Finally, he just turned away with a shake of his head.

"She has everyone in the guild to keep her company." Happy said with an air of finality saying that he didn't want to discuss this any further.

Natsu frowned, his cat friend could really be mysterious when he wanted to be. With a bored sigh, the mage turned his gaze to the sky and allowed his thoughts to wander.

Unfortunately for him, the only place his thoughts wanted to go was Lucy.

Unfortunately for him because every time his thoughts strayed to the blonde he felt an ache in his chest. He didn't like it so he tried to avoid any thoughts of her. On some level, he knew why he felt his heart clench whenever he thought of her, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it. Instead he chose to imagine her face. A particular memory of her that he liked,

" _Look, Natsu! I got my Fairy Tail mark!"_

Thinking of her smile as she held out her right hand in front of her only served to make the ache in his chest grow, however.

"I miss her." He said, the truth of his words hitting him as soon her uttered the and he shot up off the ground.

"I know." Happy said simply.

"This sucks!" Natsu growled, feeling anger well up inside him. "Why should I have to leave if it makes me feel bad?! Why did I even think this was the right choice?!" Natsu turned and punched a nearby tree to let out his frustration and, with a loud crack, it fell to the ground.

"Calm down, Natsu!" Happy cried. "I get that you're upset, but you're gonna destroy the forest!"

Breathing heavily, Natsu lowered his shaking fists.

"Did I...do the right thing?" He asked, and Happy was shocked to hear his voice sound so throaty and hoarse. "And, if I did, why does it feel so terrible?" He roughly dragged the heel of his palm against his face.

For a moment, Happy was rendered speechless. Natsu crying was a rarity, and it always caught the feline by surprise.

"Natsu," Happy said, finally finding his tongue, "you wanted to go on this journey-"

"I _know_ -" Natsu snarled.

"You wanted to go on this journey, "Happy repeated, raising his voice, "and you obviously had a reason for it. What was that reason?"

Natsu thought about this. What had been his reason? What could've possibly made him want to leave Lucy and all his friends? He thought, and thought, and thought. Then,

"She cried." He said, turning to face his friend. "She cried because I wasn't there. Because I wasn't strong enough to protect her."

"So, what are you gunna do about it?!" Happy egged him on, grinning broadly.

Natsu roared and lit his hands on fire, assuming a fighting stance, "I'll become so strong that Lucy never has to cry again! Come on, Happy! Let's train!" He sprinted into a nearby clearing, spewing fire everywhere.

"Aye, sir!"

* * *

 **Ah, that wonderful time of year has come. Fanfics are blooming. AMVs are singing. That right, it's Nalu Week! (which you probably already knew if you read the title of this story...) This is my first Nalu week, so I'm super excited! I'll try to write for the whole week...if I don't get too lazy. We all know how that's gonna work out.**

 **Please review (I'm sorry it's so short!)**

 **With love and mushrooms that make you trip balls,**

 **Dolly**


	2. Reunion

Lucy awoke in the middle of the night thinking everything was the same. Natsu was gone. Fairy Tail was gone. Her guildmates were gone. Her adventures were over. Her life had become a routine.

Then, it hit her. It felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off her chest. Natsu _wasn't_ gone. He was right outside her bedroom, sleeping on her sofa. And, if Natsu wasn't gone, then maybe Fairy Tail wasn't gone, and her guildmates weren't gone, and her adventures weren't over.

She flung the covers off herself and rose out of bed. She shuffled towards the doorway and poked her head out of the curtain that separated her room from the living room. There they were. Natsu and Happy, both fast asleep. Lucy let out a breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"You're such an idiot!" She grumbled quietly, being careful not to wake either of them. "Going off on your own like that! It's a miracle you didn't get yourself killed! Or arrested! Or both!"

The blonde mage tiptoed over to the sofa and crouched down in front of him. He looked considerably more docile compared to when she'd first seen him sleep (he had punched her in the face). In fact, his face and body were completely still. Looking at him, really looking at him, brought back memories that she'd spent the last year trying to repress. It was okay, though. She didn't need to repress them anymore. Natsu was back. She wasn't alone anymore.

"Don't leave me again." She begged, her voice barely a whisper. Very gently, she placed her hand on top of his. "If you do… I'll never forgive you!"

A single tear made it's way down her face, she quickly wiped it away and stood up. She looked down at the Dragon Slayer again. This time, however, she felt hopeful. It was a feeling that had become almost foreign to her after Fairy Tail disbanded. Lucy was grateful to him for that. She was grateful to him for a lot of things.

"I've missed you, Natsu. Welcome back." Lucy whispered. She pulled the blankets up to cover more of him and tiptoed back to her room.

And only when he was positive that she was asleep in her room, did Natsu open his eyes and whisper,

"It's… good to be back."

* * *

 **I know, this is unforgivably short, even for me. I swear, I'm trying! I'm sorry!**

 **On another note, I'm going to discontinue _The Magic Continues_ (heh, get it?) because I am really not feeling inspired for it and there's no way I'm gonna finish it before _The Cursed Child_ comes out like I was planning to. HOWEVER (I love being dramatic), I will try to find the motivation to continue _What If Kaori Never Died?_ , but don't count on regular updates (Laziness, am I right?)**

 **Please review! Please. Writing fanfictions is all I have.**

 **With love and beautiful reunions,**

 **Dolly**


	3. Admiration

"Sorry, Natsu." Lucy apologized, a sympathetic look on her face.

"W-Why?" The fire mage croaked. He was on his hands and knees in pure defeat.

"I'm really sorry." Lucy said. "We have to."

Natsu groaned, raising his head to look at his greatest, most terrifying foe.

"It's not a long ride." She promised as he stared apprehensively at the large, red train.

"You're cruel, Lucy." He replied, staggering to his feet. He tried not to think of the dreaded train ride as that would only make him feel sicker.

"It'll be alright, Natsu." Happy said, flying around Lucy's head. Despite the sympathy she felt for Natsu, Lucy was smiling. She hadn't really stopped smiling since they'd started their adventure to revive Fairy Tail.

Lucy took Natsu's arm and helped him towards the train. Natsu groaned and turned green the minute they set foot on board.

"We're not even moving yet!" Lucy scolded, though it was mostly playful. She knew that even thinking of transportation could send the Dragon Slayer into a bought of sickness. Once the trio had taken their seats, the train began chugging forward. Natsu groaned and lurched forward while Lucy gave him comforting pats on the back.

"H-How long till we get there?" Natsu managed between heaves.

"We just left, it'll be at least an hour."

Natsu turned and vomited out the open window.

"It's gonna be long ride." Happy commented, idly chewing on fish.

After about half an hour the train suddenly lurched and was running off the tracks. Panic ensued.

"What's going on?" Lucy shrieked, bringing her feet up to avoid Natsu's sudden vomit onto the floor.

"I don't know!" Happy cried. The train had magic power reserves, it could go on for hours off the tracks. There was no time to wait for it to stop.

Being careful to avoid the mess, Lucy stepped out of her seat and flung the compartment door open.

"Happy, take Natsu and fly to the front of the train, I'll meet you there."

"Aye, sir!" Happy said, taking Natsu and pulling him, not too gently, out the window.

One hand on her keys and the other holding her whip, Lucy ran down the aisle of her car. She hopped over the little space in between in each car. A few cars later, she arrived at the front of the train.

Without hesitation, she flung the door open and cried,

"Open! Gate of the Lion! Leo!"

Loke materialized at her side as several bandits closed in on them, sneering.

"What have you done with the driver?" Lucy asked. Where was Natsu? He should've been here by now. Then she saw a glimpse of pink outside the window. Natsu's face was hovering outside the window. What was he doing?

"Don't count on him." One of them sneered. "We prepared for him. Doused the whole train in gasoline, we did. We didn't count on another wizard, though."

Lucy thanked the heavens that Natsu had noticed the gasoline before firing.

"Let's do it, Loke." Lucy said, cracking her whip.

"I've always wanted you to say that to me." Loke purred, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Star dress!" Lucy cried. "Leo form!"

Her outfit changed to a long frilly dress. The bandits charged them (as well as you can charge someone in a cramped train car).

"Regulus Impact!" Leo yelled, punching three bandits.

"Regulus Fleuve d'etoiles!" Lucy cried, her whip glowing brightly. She slashed it across the remaining two bandits.

"Thanks, Loke." Lucy said as she sent him off with a wave of his key. A knock came from the window and Lucy walked over to it. Natsu was grinning like mad when Lucy unlatched the window and opened it.

"That was awesome! You were awesome! Where did you learn to do that?" Natsu said excitedly from outside.

"Well, you know, I've been training…" She said, feeling slightly abashed.

"Is that Erza's magic?" He asked, his eyes shining like a child.

"Not really, I've just taken on some Celestial power."

"Cool! You should fight me!"

"What? You didn't want to fight before!" She said indignantly.

"That was because I didn't think you could stand a chance against me!" He countered.

"I still can't!"

"So, you admit defeat." He said triumphantly.

"Ugh, whatever!"

Natsu laughed, causing Lucy to giggle as well. Soon, they were both doubled over with laughter.

"Hey, guys?" Happy said, looking worriedly at the the complicated switches and knobs on the control panel of the train. "I hate to interrupt, but…"

"But?" Lucy asked, a trace of a smile still on her face.

"How do we stop the train?"

* * *

 **Guess what? I already have Day 4 written! Look at me being all proactive! Aren't you proud of me? Of course you are!... I hope.**

 **Please review!**

 **With love and runaway trains,**

 **Dolly**


	4. Secrets

"Hey, Happy!" Lucy called. Happy cast a frightened glance over his shoulder before attempting to fly away, but Lucy was too quick for him. She grabbed his tail, earning a yelp from the blue cat.

"Where have you been?" Lucy demanded, placing her hands on her hips. "I've been looking for you… and Natsu… I thought…" She trailed off, looking irritated but, at the same time, relieved.

"Sorry, Lucy." Happy apologized. "Natsu's been feeling kinda down lately. I was just out to get some food."

He held out the two fish in his arms.

"Where's Natsu?" She asked.

"Juvia and Gray's house." He replied, and just shrugged at the bewildered look on Lucy's face.

"Lucy… maybe you should go see him. Maybe it'll make him feel better."

Lucy huffed, "I was obviously going to, whether you asked me or not."

"Aye!" Happy said as he hooked his paws under her armpits and took flight.

"Hey… Lucy…" Came Happy's strained voice a couple moments after they'd taken off. "Have you gained weight?"

"Shut up, cat." Lucy hissed dangerously.

Once they'd arrived, Happy set Lucy down and walked to the door. It opened with a creak.

"Natsu? I'm back." Happy called, walking into the house with Lucy close behind. Lucy heard a faint grunt which she assumed was Natsu reply.

"Natsu!" Happy exclaimed as they walked into the dining room where Natsu was sitting at the table. His cheek was on his hand and he had an apathetic look on his face. That look sent Lucy reeling with shock. Natsu was a lot of things, but apathetic certainly wasn't one of them.

"I've brought fish!" Happy continued, clearly feigning his cheeriness. "And-"

"Lucy." Natsu said, sitting up straight. His black eyes burned into her with a ferocity she'd never felt before. She bit the inside of her cheek, a nervous habit. She felt scrutinized under his gaze, and it made her very uncomfortable. It wasn't as if the dragon slayer had never been overly and unnecessarily intense before, but not like this, never like this. With that look on her, she felt like hiding in the corner.

"N-Natsu…" Lucy stammered, breaking eye contact. Though she could still feel Natsu's gaze on her like a lead weight.

Happy coughed awkwardly, "Well, I'm going to get more fish." He said and quickly scrambled out of the room before Lucy could say anything.

Lucy stood in awkward silence with Natsu, who didn't show any indication of starting a conversation.

The Celestial mage took a deep breath. What was the matter with her? This was Natsu. Nothing was ever awkward, or uncomfortable, or tense with Natsu.

"What's wrong?" She asked, finally finding her voice. He didn't reply.

" _Natsu._ " She pressed, taking a step closer. What was the matter with _him_? He was acting so strange.

Swiftly, Natsu stood up and took Lucy's hand.

"Lucy." He said, his eyes frantic. "Tell me, honestly, how would you look at me if I wasn't human, if I was something bad like a monster?"

"What kind of question is that?" She asked in confusion.

"Tell me, please." Natsu begged.

 _This day is just full of surprises._ Lucy thought.

"You're Natsu." Lucy answered honestly. "You'll always be Natsu. It doesn't really matter to me if you're human, or not. I mean, I'm friends with Celestial Spirits and talking, flying cats so nothing could faze me at this point!" She laughed, and then shook her head. "I really don't know why you're asking this. Is this what you've been upset about all this time? You shouldn't get so caught up in hypothetical situations, trust me, I know. This one time I got super depressed because I thought about how my life would be if I hadn't joined Fa-"

She was cut off by Natsu pulling her into a hug.

"N-Natsu?" Lucy went back to stammering, a blush spreading across her cheeks. Natsu didn't say anything, he just buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"Honestly, you're such a weirdo!" Lucy huffed indignantly.

Lucy felt a silent laugh reverberate through Natsu's chest.

"That's my line." He said and she could feel him grinning on her skin.

They stayed like that for a while, just wrapped around each other and smiling.

What they didn't notice, however, was a certain blue Exceed peeking through the window with a mysterious grin on his face.

"In looooove!"

* * *

 **Do you guys think Natsu is OOC in this one? I wanted to show that getting told that you're a DEMON created by the very same person that you're trying to defeat doesn't feel very good. That, even thought you don't care and you still want to defeat that person, knowing that you were made to be something evil makes you feel terrible. Especially when you think about the people that you love, and how they would treat you if they knew. So, sorry if I you think I went overboard and made Natsu all weird and sulky.**

 **Please review!**

 **With love and fairies with tails,**

 **Dolly**


	5. Struggle

"So, how many Zodiac keys did you say you have?"

"Ten." Lucy answered in a bored voice. She was having dinner at a very nice restaurant with a very nice man from out of town. He was very interested in Celestial Spirit magic, which Lucy appreciated. The only problem, he was more interested in Celestial Spirit magic than he was in her. She was struggling to stay polite and make it through the date.

"Which ones?" He asked and hey eye twitched. He'd asked her this question six times already.

"All of them except Pisces and Libra." She said, giving him a smile that she hoped wasn't too strained.

"Do you plan on trying to get those two keys?" Then, Lucy noticed something. He had a pen and notepad in his hands. _He was taking notes._  
"No." Lucy said, trying to keep her voice pleasant. This guy was getting on every last one of her nerves. "I know the person with the Pisces and Libra keys personally. She loves them, I could never take them away from her."

"Oh, that's very kind, do you-"

"Would you look at the time!" Lucy suddenly exclaimed, finally having enough of this guy. "It's getting late, I really should be going."

"Really?" He said, sounding so genuinely disappointed that Lucy almost felt guilty. Almost.

"Yeah, I have something important planned for tomorrow and I should get my rest."

It wasn't a complete lie, she _did_ plan on going on a job with Natsu tomorrow.

"Well, let me at least walk you home." He said, rising from the table. She internally sighed, he really was a nice person.

 _If only someone like him was actually interested in me._ She thought. Then, she corrected herself. _Well, maybe not exactly like him. He's kinda boring. And irritating._

The walked out of the restaurant and Lucy, on force of habit, hopped onto the little ledge that separated the road from the river.

"You shouldn't do that, it's dangerous." The man said, worry written all over his face.

"It's fine." She rolled her eyes without thinking, then winced at her own rudeness. She hadn't meant to be so blunt, but she didn't like guys who treated her like a clumsy ditz. Maybe Lucy wasn't the strongest mage in her guild, but she could walk.

Lucy spent the rest of the walk home vaguely listening to him go on about the the leader, and most powerful of the Zodiac gates. Lucy had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing when he started talking about how "honorable" he must be.

"Thanks for walking me home." Lucy said when they'd arrived at the front of her house.

"No problem." He said. "I'm leaving tomorrow, but… if I'm ever back in town… could I see you again?"

"S-Sure…" Lucy said, hoping her smile didn't seem too much like a grimace. She would wish on every star that he would forget about her and never come back.

"Great!" He said, and then he pulled her closer by the arms and kissed her. Before Lucy could even register what happened, he had already pulled back and was walking away.

"What the hell…?" Lucy muttered in confusion more than anything else. She was mildly irritated that he would presume so much as to kiss her on the first date but, other than that, she didn't really care. It wasn't like she ever planned to see him again.

"Who was that?" Came a familiar, but clearly irritated, voice as she opened the door.

"Natsu." She chided, though she wasn't even the least bit surprised. "What have I said about breaking into my house?"

"To never do it!" Came a cheerful, higher- pitched voice. Lucy flicked on the light switch and saw Happy and Natsu. Happy looked...well, happy as he nibbled on a fish. Natsu, however, was sitting cross-legged on the floor with a sour expression on his face and his arms crossed over his chest.

"What's the matter?" She asked, crouching down in front of him.

Happy giggled, "Yeah, tell her, Natsu. I'll leave you two alone." He sprouted wings and soared out the open window.

"What a weirdo…" Lucy muttered, then turned her attention to Natsu.

"Who was that?" He asked before Lucy could say anything.

"Ugh, just some guy." She said, not wanting to talk about that. "Wait, how did you-"

"I was watching from the window." Natsu said, his scowl deepening. Lucy blushed, knowing what he saw.

"You're creepy!" She accused, feeling very flustered. "I can't believe you saw that! How embarrassing!"

"He _kissed_ you." Natsu spat out like the words were foul on his tongue.

"I know!" Lucy cried. "It was terrible! I didn't want to hurt his feelings by rejecting him, but then he kissed me! I hope he just forgets about me, I would hate to have to reject him after all that!"

"You were going to reject him?' Natsu asked, his body relaxing almost instantly.

She nodded, "I didn't like him, but I didn't want to hurt-" She stopped, a realization dawning on her, and grinned. "Natsu, by any chance, were you jealous?"

"W-What?" He sputtered, blushing furiously. "No! I just… you… looked like you didn't wanna kiss him! So, I was just upset because I thought he was taking advantage of you!"

He nodded vigorously.

"Fine." Lucy said, deciding to let him off the hook, for once.

"So…was it a good kiss?" Natsu asked casually, trying to look indifferent.

Lucy had picked up a book lying nearby and wasn't really paying attention to the conversation anymore, "Meh." She answered. "It was pretty bad, to be honest."

"Really?" He said, and she hummed in response.

"Say, Natsu." She said, looking up from her book. "It says in this book that Vulcans-

Her words were cut off by a pair of lips being pressed against her own.

Unlike the last kiss where she didn't even know what was happening, now she was hyper-aware of the fact that Natsu was kissing her. _Kissing her._ And she was kissing him back. She couldn't even think about why Natsu was doing this, or why she was reciprocating; it was like all thought had been extinguished and she was working on auto-pilot.

Then, Natsu pulled away slightly to breathe. How long had they been kissing? It felt like years and, at the same time, not nearly enough. Her mind was buzzing, adrenaline pumping through her. Levy had once told her that chocolate and kissing both cause a release of a certain hormone that makes you happy, so eating chocolate and kissing should feel the same way.

At that time, she had thought Levy was wrong. Eating chocolate was way better than kissing. Chocolate was never a pervert who was trying to get into your pants, or a pitiful fool who was trying to make you like him.

She still thought Levy was wrong. Kissing Natsu was like chocolate times a thousand.

 _I guess…_ She thought through her daze, _that means I like him._

It didn't feel like a huge revelation, instead she only felt relieved and happy. Maybe she knew all along, she was just too stupid to realize it.

"So," Natsu said huskily, "was it better with me?"

Lucy grinned mischievously and pulled him closer so their noses touched,

"Nah." She said. "You should try again."

After that day, Lucy didn't really eat chocolate anymore.

* * *

 **This is the first kiss scene I've ever written. Not just for Nalu, I've never written a kiss scene for anything. Which is really weird because I'm the crazy over-** **obsessive shipper that hides in the bushes whispering, "kiiiissss...kiiiisss". So, sorry if it sucks. But everyone starts somewhere! Today, my first kiss scene! Tomorrow, smut!**

 **Please review!**

 **With love and chocolate,**

 **Dolly**


	6. Climax

"Luuuuuucy!' Natsu whined as he lay on Lucy's bed bed. His girlfriend was sitting at her desk, furiously scribbling notes on a piece of paper. On the edge of the desk sat a thick book with a black leather cover. Though it was closed, Lucy kept sending  
furtive glances towards it.

"Luuuuuucy!" Natsu whined again and Lucy let out a frustrated sigh.

"Natsu." She said, turning to face him with bleary eyes. 'I'm busy."

"But I wanna go on a job!" He pleaded, clasping his hands together.

"Go with Happy." She said, turning back to her work.

"But we're a team! Jobs aren't the same without you!"

Lucy cheeks turned faintly pink but she said, "There's a reason you need me for this job, isn't there?"

There was long, awkward pause before Natsu said, "Okay, the flier did say that they wanted a 'large-chested girl' but there's a lot of those in the guild! I could've picked Mira, or Erza, or Cana, or-"

"Like hell I'm going on that job!" She screamed.

"Don't shout, Lucy." He said, cleaning out his ear with a finger. With an irritated huff, Lucy went back to scribbling notes.

"What're you doing, anyway?" Natsu asked. Lucy hummed, not really listening.

"What's this?" Without thinking, Natsu snatched the big black book off the table. He almost dropped it, it weighed a ton.

"Natsu!" Lucy hissed, though she didn't make a grab for the book like he'd expected. "Put that down. Now."

"Why?" Natsu asked, examining the book closely. "It doesn't look dangerous." He put his nose on the cover and took a big whiff.

"IT STINKS!" He screamed dropping the book and clutching the bridge his overly-sensitive nose.

"No!" Lucy cried.

Suddenly, a strange light began filling the room. The source seemed to be the book, which was lying open to a page with a tower and a dragon on it.

"Natsu, you idiot!" Lucy screamed as the light became blinding and they both felt the sensation of falling.

* * *

Natsu woke up next to a tall stone tower. He looked down at himself.

 _What the hell happened to my clothes?!_ He thought. Now, he was clothed in a loose white tunic and black pants and brown boots. Natsu had no real objection to this outfit (he didn't really care) so he just shrugged it off.

"Lucy?" He called, looking around.

"Natsu?" He heard a faint voice say. "Is that you?"

"Lucy! Where are you?"

"Up here!"

Natsu looked up see Lucy's face peering down at him from a window at the top of the tower.

"How am I supposed to get up there?" He said.

"I don't know! Figure something out! You're the prince of this story, or whatever!"

"What?" He yelled as he latched onto the tower and began to climb. "No way am I a prince! I'm a dragon!"

"Yeah, yeah, hurry up."

He finally reached the top of the tower where Lucy was waiting for him with her arms crossed over her chest. Her clothes had changed too, she was wearing a plain white, sleeveless dress that ended at her knees. Her hair was down and cascaded down her  
back and she was barefoot. Natsu would be flat-out lying if he said she didn't look nice. He relished in the fact that she was his, and he wouldn't let anyone see her in this pretty outfit.

"You do realize this is your fault, right?" She said, yanking him back to reality. He swallowed thickly before asking,

"What's going on?"

She frowned, "That book was magical book of fairy tales. Levy asked me to help her do some research on it. It's a sentient book that plays tricks on whoever's holding it, hoping that person will open it."

Natsu remembered how heavy the book was, and it's putrid smell.

"It's trapped us in this fairy tale, and the only way we can get out is to achieve the happy ending."

"How do we do that?" Natsu asked.

"...I don't know." Lucy confessed. "I don't know what fairy tale we're in, so I can't say what the ending will be. But, I do know that, once we reach the climax, we'll pretty much know what to do from there."

"Why?"

"The climax," Lucy explained, "is the highest and most exciting point a story can reach. Like a battle, or the guy getting the girl, or something like that. Since that's the most dramatic part of the story, it'll just be smooth sailing from that point  
on. Some stories even end right after the climax, so let's hope we get lucky."

Natsu nodded, "So, how do we make this 'climax' thing happen?"

Lucy shrugged, "I think you're supposed to rescue me from this tower."

"You don't look like you need rescuing." He said, examining her face for any signs of harm.

"I-"

Just then a voice called down from below,

"Princess? Are you up there?"

"Who is that?" Natsu asked. Lucy just shrugged again.

"Princess?" The voice called again.

Lucy walked over to the window and peered down, "Um, up here!"

Natsu and Lucy stood in tense silence for several minutes as the man climbed the tower.

Finally, he managed to get through the window.

"H-Hello." Lucy squeaked, completely unsure of how to act.

"Princess!" The man cried dramatically. "I have come to rescue you from this tower, so that you may be my bride!"

"Bride?!" Natsu yelled.

"Who are you?' The man asked, sneering.

"I'll show you who I am, asshole!" Natsu lit his hands on fire.

"Calm down, Natsu." Lucy said, placing her hand on his arm. "This might be the only way to get out of here."

"You...you...you" The prince cried, staring open-mouthed at Natsu's flaming fists, "you're a dragon in disguise!"

 _How did he come to that conclusion?_ Lucy wondered.

"D-D-Don't worry, Princess!" The man stutted, drawing his sword with trembling hands. "I'll protect you!"

Natsu laughed, "Sure you will. Come and get me, then."

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Lucy's head, "Natsu," She muttered. "Lose to him."

"No way!"

"You-"

But the man charged Natsu, swinging his sword wildly. Natsu dodged easily and punched him in the gut, sending him flying back against the wall.

"Natsu!" Lucy scolded. "You were supposed to lose!"

"To that weakling? He didn't even know how to use his own sword."

"But he's the prince! And the prince is supposed to rescue me! That's how the story ends!"

Natsu looked miffed, "Well, if he's the prince, what am I?"

"You're the evil dragon! And you're supposed to lose! How are we gonna get out of here now?"

"I'm not evil." Natsu said, crossing his arms. "And I don't lose!"

"In the story, you do!"

"I don't like this story." He said. "I'm gonna rewrite it!"

"What? You can't just-"

"Since the prince was little wuss, I'll rescue you instead! Marry me, Lucy?" He extended his hand, grinning broadly.

All protest died in Lucy's throat as she was left completely speechless.

"Sorry, I left the ring back at my place." He said. Lucy noticed how his eyes darted around, despite his confident grin. So, even the mighty Salamander can get scared.

"You are the most unromantic person I've ever met." She stated.

"I know." He replied, his grin widening. The room was filling with that same strange light, but neither of them took any notice.

"Of course I'll marry you, idiot." She screamed as the light became blinding and they both felt the sensation of falling.

* * *

 **WOOH! ONLY ONE DAY LEFT! I'm so excited, but I have no idea what to do for tomorrow! Oops, blame the laziness. Anyway, I watched this movie called** ** _Geek Charming_** **last night, and it was so cute! (I was actually watching it when I was supposed to be writing the rough draft for this fic :P) It reminded me of Nalu in weird way, so now I'm inspired to write something similar to that. Let me know if you guys want that!**

 **Please review!**

 **With love and dragons in disguise,**

 **Dolly**


	7. The End

With collective sighs of relief, the members of Fairy Tail lowered their weapons and fists. The battle was over. Zeref was defeated. Makarov had sealed the book of END in lacrima, much to many people protests.

"We should just destroy it!" Gray yelled, earning a glare from the guild master.

"The matter is final. We will not destroy this book." He said, silencing everyone's complaints.

Then, in a much more cheerful tone he said, "Now, let's go home, kids! The war is over! You all fought well! It's party time!"

That statement was met with cheers as they all followed their master back home. Only Natsu didn't move. He was lying on the ground, staring up at the cloudless sky.

 _I guess he knew all along._ He thought. _Thanks, Gramps._

"What're you doing Natsu?" He heard Lucy say as she crouched over him. Happy was perched on her shoulder.

"The war is over…" He breathed, feeling the need to say it, to confirm it.

Lucy laughed, "Yeah, dummy. You ended it."

He hummed thoughtfully.

"Come on, Natsu! I wanna eat some fish!" Happy said, flying off Lucy's shoulder.

"Let's go home, Natsu." Lucy said, rising and extending a hand to help Natsu up. Natsu took it, and didn't let go even after he'd risen to his feet.

"Wait a moment." A small, childish voice commanded. The trio turned to see Mavis Vermilion with an uncharacteristically sad expression on her face.

"First-" Natsu began but Mavis raised a hand, silencing him.

"So, Zeref is dead?" She asked.

"We-"

"I know." She cut him off. "But, it's better this way. This is what he wanted."

None of them knew how to reply. Mavis had loved the black mage once, they knew that, but they couldn't understand it. They felt sorry for her, but they couldn't comprehend how she could fall in love with someone who wanted to annihilate humanity.

Natsu, maybe because he felt nothing but hatred for Zeref, or maybe because delicacy just wasn't one of his strong points, spoke up. "First, why did you love him? How could you have fallen for him? He's evil!"

"Natsu-" Lucy and Happy scolded at the same time, but Mavis cut her off,

"'The more the cursed cares about life the more he will kill'" She said as if repeating something she'd heard before. "I don't blame him… this world rejected him, and it became too much for him to handle. If only circumstances had been different… As for why I loved him, his eyes… were very kind." The first master spoke with a very wistful, nostalgic tone. After a long silence, Mavis took a deep breath. She looked up at the sky, as if she was looking for something.

"This era has come to an end." She said. She glanced at Lucy and Natsu's connected hands and smiled. "I'm sure you two will be the beginning of a new one."

As she walked away, Lucy shouted,

"First!"

Mavis turned and saw the the trio, each of them holding their hand up in the Fairy Tail salute.

She smiled and walked away.

"What a great guild it's become, huh, Zeref?"

* * *

"Hey, Natsu? Wasn't there something you wanted to do once the war was over?" Happy said as they made their way back to the guild.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I remember! Yo, Lucy!" He called to Lucy, who was several yards ahead of them.

"Yeah?" She turned to them.

"I love you!"

* * *

 **That's the E.N.D of Nalu week (I'm not even sorry)! I wrote for the whole week! I'm so proud of myself! I'm thinking of writing another fic were Zeref doesn't die. Or maybe a sequel where him and Mavis' ghosts live on Tenrou Island together. Let me know which one you guys want!**

 **Please review!  
**

 **With love and Nalu,**

 **Dolly**


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